Kathy Griffin gives expletive-filled rant during first major appearance since Trump mask scandal

Kathy Griffin’s red carpet drought is officially over. On Sunday night, the comedian made an appearance at the Writers Guild Awards and even presented an award. This marks the first time Griffin walked a red carpet since May 2017, when she slowly retreated from the spotlight after posing for a photo that almost ended her career.

At the awards show, which wasn’t televised, she actually slammed the Writers Guild. But first she addressed her new look. “It’s me, Kathy Griffin — I got a haircut and I lost my career in a day. Hi!,” she began before giving out the night’s animation award. “I just want to thank all the powerful writers and showrunners in this room for f***ing no support. Where the f*** have you been?…I was supposed to thank everyone for their support, and no one [lifted] their finger.”

Griffin went on to express a desire for people to learn from her jarring experience being ostracized by Hollywood. Since May 30, 2017, when a picture in which Griffin appeared to be holding President Donald Trump’s severed head was shared on her social media accounts, she has lain low, lifting her head only for press conferences and videos about the scandal.

“Honestly, if you think it can’t happen to you, it can, and it can happen like that,” she said, snapping her fingers. “You may have hated that photo, and that’s OK, but if one of your 12-year-old kids puts it on Twitter, they shouldn’t have to be under a two-month federal investigation, be on the No Fly List and the Interpol list.”

After complaining about not being in the Writers Guild and about her inability to get on a union show — in part, she claimed, because she’s a 57-year-old woman — she admitted that she was, in earnest, “very honored to be here.”